My second article was published on The Grio this morning. I didn’t have to take a bus to New Jersey at 7 a.m this time, but there was still a fair amount of blood, sweat and tears. I love “journalisting” (that’s my new verb), but I still feel a sense of anxiety around my work. I described this feeling to a fellow journalist last night and he said that when I stop feeling that way it is probably time to retire. Point well taken.

There is one interesting behind the scenes moment of the article. I was doing some research after I was assigned the piece and realized my old boss was one of the first elected officials to take a stand against Blast. The issue was straight forward. I called him first thing yesterday morning and he gave me a brief interview. I knew those City Council contacts would be useful in this business. (I have tried to explain this to a certain t.v station on many occasions but they just don’t seem to care.)

Thanks in advance for reading the article. Please post the link to your social networks.

I wanted to take a minute to share some great news. I am now a contributor to The Grio, an African American focused website that is owned by NBC. My article, on Paterson N.J in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene is the lead article on the site today. I would greatly appreciate it if you could tweet the link, post it on your facebook site and comment on the article on The Grio.

The process of being asked to write the piece and completing it was a 24 hour whirlwind. The great interviews would not have been possible without the generosity of several Patersonians, especially Oronde Haggans. I met Oronde on the NJ Transit bus that I took down to Paterson from New York on Friday morning . Not only did he allow me to interview him for the article, he also volunteered to be my unofficial guide around Paterson. After working an overnight shift, he took several hours out of his day for a complete stranger.

It has been an interesting summer. But I feel as though the impending change in seasons is bringing me good luck. Thank you in advance for reading the article. I hope that you will continue to enjoy the holiday weekend.

Ok, I know this seems a little desperate. But I really want to increase the amount of people who follow me on Twitter. I got a lot of follow Friday’s from some great people today, with a lot of followers. Low and behold, only two new people started following me. I must have lost a few along the way. My grand total still stands at a measly 139 followers. I don’t get Twitter. I am sure I could be doing tons more to improve my follower status, but I swear I am really trying so please… Follow Me 🙂 And tell your friends 🙂 @ChelseaLynR

“Don’t Call it a Comeback!” It’s true Big Apple tours, a so-called “sex tourism” travel agency that has had several run ins with the State of NY never went away. In fact, they bragged that they beat the state at their own game when they walked away without any convictions in 2009. Luckily, the Westchester Country District attorney is not willing to let this case go.

“Allen allegedly told the undercover officer that he would have to negotiate with the women about what sex acts they would perform before they left the bar. He is also accused of telling the officer that, if he found a woman he liked, he could keep her for the rest of his stay in the Philippines .”

“In Rhode Island, children under 18 aren’t allowed to perform a number of jobs labeled “hazardous”, including operating commercial baking machines, making bricks, or using industrial power tools. But the law doesn’t prohibit them from dancing in strip clubs when they’re still in high school. Strip clubs expose teens to hazards like increased risk of physical and sexual assault and potential trafficking for prostitution. But now one woman is fighting to get sexual performance added to the list of occupations Rhode Island teens shouldn’t hold.”

In addition, another legal loop-hole in Rhode Island made indoor prostitution legal for 30 years until legislation was passed to ban the practice in the fall of 2009.

“There have been traffickers and pimps who specifically target Native girls because they feel that they’re versatile and they can post them (online) as Hawaiian, as Native, as Asian, as you name it,” said Jolene Goeden, a special agent for the FBI in Anchorage.

This morning I was honored to attend World Vision’s Annual World AIDS Day Women’s Prayer breakfast. It was a beautiful and spiritually uplifting event. Former First Lady Laura Bush was the keynote speaker. Her daughter Barbara was in the audience.

I am no Bush devotee, but I will give him credit for his work on HIV/AIDS in Africa.

The honorees were Susan Smith Ellis, CEO of Project RED and Elizabeth N. Mataka, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on AIDS in Africa.

I found this article on Anderson Cooper’s blog. Totally amazing that slavery is still happening right next door.

“Nicole, Zena, Jacqueline and the other girls were held in groups in several houses around Newark and East Orange, New Jersey. The girls were brought to the United States at different times between 2002 and 2007, according to court documents. As the group grew, the traffickers ran out of places to put them and had to rent more living quarters.”